The New York Times, Monday May 11, 2009, page A1: Stephen Labaton's "Administration Will Strengthen Antitrust Rules." Page A11: Robert Pear's "Health Care Industry Is Said to Promise to Hold Down Costs Voluntarily." Page A21: Paul Krugman's "Harry, Louise and Barack."
The administration has made a grandiose threat to enforce antitrust rules "against corporations that use their market dominance to elbow out competitors, or to keep them from gaining market share." And then, with apparent administration encouragement representing a full-blown schizophrenic break, the big financial interests in healthcare ("doctors, hospitals, drug makers and insurance companies") have joined forces, out of the public eye (in Senator Kennedy's offices?), to exert their market dominance on the citizenry without any administrative recognition that this is insane. When the big players put their heads together, will they be more interested in diverting dollars to their corporate treasuries or in saving health care dollars while providing quantitatively higher quality health care? Were these the country club buddies of the bankers and financial people who just wrecked our economy, chanting "greed is good"?
Krugman describes his cynicism about the motives of these big money operatives. I'm not cynical, I just think the whole situation is sick.
Yesterday's blog illustrates how the money will be saved. And it bodes poorly for our families' health.
By the way, who is protecting the public?
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